


Zero Sum

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [93]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf
Series: 201 Days Of X Files [93]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/315719
Kudos: 7





	Zero Sum

"What time is your mom getting here?" Mulder asks, pacing the hospital room.

"Soon," Scully answers through a yawn. "She'll be here soon."

He nods, reaching up to change channels on the silent TV in the corner. "I don't get why you have to stay here."

"I told you already," she sighs, straightening the crisp covers of her bed over her lap. "The test results from earlier were concerning. They're calling someone in to do the MRI as soon as possible. Could be in an hour; could be in the morning. It's just easier if I'm here already."

Finally giving up on the TV, Mulder turns to Scully. He runs a hand through his hair, scratching his head before jamming his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He leans a thigh against the foot of her bed. "But I don't get the rush all of a sudden." He chews the inside of his lip. "I mean...you said you feel  
fine, right?"

Scully nods, wishing she could soothe Mulder's worry in some way. She hadn't intended on telling him what was going on until she got the MRI results, but he was there when the doctor called to ask her to come in for her results, and he insisted on going with her. "If the cancer has metastasized," she begins slowly, "Things could happen quickly."

He swallows hard at that, looking like he's trying not to be sick, and yet trying to keep a cool exterior. She had been fairly open with him concerning her condition all throughout, but at that moment, Scully decides that if her MRI results aren't good, she won't tell him. Or at least she'll wait a while. "But you feel fine," he reiterates, and it only solidifies her decision.

She nods again. "I feel fine," she repeats, because they both need to hear it. "It's entirely possible I've just got a cold or the flu coming on. That would affect my test results as well."

"It would?" he sounds hopeful.

"It would," she echoes, feeling more like a doctor than a patient. 

"Nothing like making you worry," he sighs, moving to sit in the chair by her bed. "I'll wait here till your mom gets here."

"You don't have to do that," she tells him. In truth, she'd appreciate some time to herself. She hadn't had a moment to thoroughly consider the possibilities of what her test results might mean.

"S'alright...I didn't have anything else to do tonight anyways."

Scully raises an eyebrow, "Just a quiet night in for you?"

Mulder smirks, forgetting that Scully sometimes knows him better than he knows himself. "I was gonna go back to the office, actually. I got an email earlier about a postal worker who died under suspicious circumstances. The detective who sent me it wanted my take on the case."

"Well there you go--you go ahead and do that, and I'll just take a nap or something until my mom gets here."

He sits up, not wanting to leave her, but eager, as ever, to get started on a new case. "Well if you're just going to have a nap anyways..."

Scully smiles and nods, "Go to work, Mulder," she instructs. 

Mulder places a hand on her shoulder, "You call me as soon as you find anything out, okay?"

Again she nods, "I will."

He hesitates for a moment, considering her face carefully, before bending down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Scully watches him leave, wondering how much dread he must have to manifest a goodbye kiss. She will call him when she finds out; she just hopes she can tell him the truth.


End file.
